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Our History

Royal Brunei Airlines, the country's flagship carrier, was established on 18 November 1974 as an independent corporation wholly owned by the government of Brunei Darussalam.

Royal Brunei Airlines is chaired by Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Awang Haji Bahrin Bin Abdullah, Brunei's Deputy Minister of Finance. Also on the Board of Directors are other senior officials from the government and private sectors in Brunei Darussalam.

Growth Through the Decades

1970s

May 14, 1975:

The maiden Royal Brunei Airlines flight to Singapore left Bandar Seri Begawan on a Boeing 737-200QC.

Flight to Kota Kinabalu also began the same day, whilst Hong Kong flew the next day.

1980s

RB added a third B737-200QC Combi to its fleet, expanding its network to Kuala Lumpur (12th December 1981) and Jakarta.

Late 80s saw the acquisition of three B757-200 aircraft, with routes to Taipei and Dubai introduced.

1990s

June 1990:

RB took delivery of the first of three B767-200ER aircraft.

November 1990

21st November – RB’s inaugural flight to London Gatwick

May 1991:

14th May - RB flew twice weekly to London Heathrow

Employed the use of Fokker 50 to service Miri and Labuan, two destinations important to the growth of Brunei’s oil and gas industry.

2000s

August and September 2003:

RB took delivery of two new Airbus A319 aircraft.

December 2003 and January 2004:

Two more Airbus A320s were delivered. RB operates a fleet of six Boeing B767-300s, two Airbus A320s and two Airbus A319s.

May 2004

16th May 2004; RB flies daily to London via Dubai

2010 & Onwards

June 2010:

RB’s newly-leased 777-200ER took off on its first commercial flight from Bandar Seri Begawan to London via Dubai.

March 2012:

RB officially launched its daily service to Melbourne in commemoration of its 1 year anniversary

October 2012:

RB’s Rebranding Journey began with its first phase: reveal of new logo and aircraft livery.

RB launches iPad mini business class service – the first airline in the world to introduce iPad mini as inflight entertainment enhancement. The service is available for Business Class passengers flying on RB’s Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Singapore routes.

October 2013

12th October; Launching of a Betterfly; RB’s B787 Dreamliner. The first airline in Southeast Asia to operate the B787 Dreamliner

18th October: First Commercial flight of RB’s 787 – to Singapore

December 2013

01st December; First Dreamliner flight to Long Haul flight to Dubai and London

April 2014

03rd April: Launch of RB’s first Dreamliner flight from Melbourne making RB the first airline in the world to offer a seamless Dreamliner long-haul flight from Melbourne to London via Brunei and Dubai.

May 2014

05th May: RB signed with Airbus and Pratt and Whitney for seven Airbus A320neo aircraft (together with three options) powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1127G-JM engines. Delivery of the new two class premium layout A320 fleet will begin in 2018.

February 2016

23rd February 2016: Royal Brunei Airlines made headlines internationally with our first female pilot trio in the flight deck flying from Bandar Seri Begawan to Jeddah. The flight was led by Captain Czarena along with SFOs Sariana and Dk Nadiah.

Moving Ahead

Soon after the beginning of the millennium, Royal Brunei Airline's Board and Management unveiled a bold and aggressive strategy to develop the airline's status as a world-class player. The plan was to make the organisation well-structured and dynamic.

At the same time, the airline would invest in a fleet renewal programme that would include both the acquisition of new aircrafts and the upgrading of its current equipment with the latest state-of-the-art technology. The core objective was to raise the levels of comfort and safety, two factors that are paramount to passengers.

The delivery of two new Airbus A319 aircrafts in August and September 2003 marked the beginning of Royal Brunei's fleet renewal programme. Two more Airbus A320s were delivered in December 2003 and January 2004. In 2010, Royal Brunei Airlines leased six Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. In October 2013, Royal Brunei Airlines were the first South East Asian carrier to take delivery of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.